Tone Poem of a Yoshi Elder
by Eduardo Amador Amazonas
Summary: What hope does an old Yoshi have for the new generation when all they care for is themselves? At least that is until a certain event... Set in an AU after the passing of the original characters. Tentative finish date: August 27.
1. I

It's been ages since I have told a tale. But who am I to speak about time and age. Generations of new Yoshis come and go, just like the seasons. Days become months, to turn into years, decades, and now, centuries. For a Yoshi of nearly six and a half centuries in age, time is nearly irrelevant and the life of any creature is as transient as a desert flower.

Oh, but how rude of me for not introducing myself. Amador, Yoshi with the power of plants and any other material in the green organic department, pleased to have met your acquaintance. What was that you asked? Why do I look so young? I can bore you with technical reasons of why I have an appearance of being centuries younger, but simply put, I was cursed with immortality.

But enough about me! Besides, you probably won't hear the end of it if I blab about myself; you probably don't have a lifetime to listen. But there is a certain life changing event that turned this cynical, dark green Yoshi clad in human clothing, meaning, me, into a… Well, I am still a bit of a cynic, but with a better outlook and hope for the newer generations. Please, take a seat. It all happened 50 years ago…


	2. II

"_I'm sorry, sir. You can't spend the night at this inn."_

_I was confused, but slightly irritated; I was tired of walking the entire day. "I beg your pardon, but I'm sure I have enough for the fee required for a night's stay."_

"_Well, forgive me but, I already said no. There's nothing, not a room empty to use. If you wouldn't mind, please go on your way."_

_Having only recently landed in the Mushroom World, I am barely getting used to the customs of the land. It seems that the age of the former heroes and villains of this world has drawn to a close with their passing, ushering in a tranquil but indifferent era. And apparently, here in this continent named Dinosaur Land, all members of my species go about unclothed, though that wasn't an issue for me. And the land here seems to have urbanized in the recent decade, though not completely so._

_Although upset, I tipped my hat (a gray Kangol flat cap), and went my way. As I exited, a female, yellow Yoshi with a flower native to another locale on her head, and her man, a green Yoshi with a ornate head dress, walk inside, as both stare me down with contempt. I would later find out the lady is the daughter of the current Yoshi chief at Lavalava, and the man is the chief at Yoshi's Island and the descendant of the famous sidekick of a red plumber, Yoshi. The desk attendant Rex, the same whom had kicked me out, greeted them joyously and immediately offered them a choice of many rooms and suites. I silently scoff as I cared not to listen to their fallacies._

_[Sigh.] The sun is nearly setting, and the only thing ahead of me away from this blasted inn at this… What was it called again? Right! Cookie Mountain, was a forest rumored to cause any trespasser to become lost, especially at night, and be subject to its evening horrors. I'm too old for such childish tales, so I just walk in, fearing nothing in the absolute. Besides, I could have probably uprooted this entire forest and replanted it if I had to. But there was no need for that, or fear for that matter. I look up at the starry sky veiled by the thick upper story brush. Faint rays of sunlight indicated it was dusk, but I continued my journey. _

_Random glowing eyes glistened throughout the forest darkness, with an occasional shadow scurrying in front of my strolling feet. A quieted hiss here, some leaves ruffling there. A dead wiggler hangs off a web that a single invasive Arachne spun. After a half an hour walk, I suddenly get mugged by a group of five, two Rex', an Eerie clad with a lifeless Dry Bones' body, a Dino-Rhino, and their leader a one-eyed Rezznor. _

_A deep voice came from the Rezznor's direction. "Well, well. Seems like we got ourselves another victim, huh boys?"_

_A nasal, somewhat throaty serpentine utterance came from the Eerie. "Another weakling Yoshi! Let do our magic again! This time, we turn him from green to purple!"_

_I was actually surprised that the Eerie knew what color I was, despite it being dark, but that was the least of my worries. No, I didn't care if they were able to kick the snot out of me; they were fodder rookies, to be honest. Instead, the smell of blood and carnage filled the air, and the eerie feeling (…yes, pun. Now laugh!) of malicious peril made my adrenaline rush. So, a one-sided battle later…_

_The five fled humiliated in defeat. A couple of broken horns and a destroyed armor trashed the forest path. Even with all the precautions I took, I was still stained with the blood of whoever they murdered, and now I would have to find a river to wash away the stench. And for the next few hours, I scavenged the southern side of the forest for at least a creek where I could bathe. And eventually, I found a clearing in this wretched arboreal hell. Wow! What a beautiful full moon this world has, softly gleaming onto a small urchin-infested lake, which fed into the ocean. As I began to remove my blood stained white suit, I heard a child's stifled weeping near my vicinity._

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**Reviews and predictions welcome. See you all next Friday!**


	3. III

_I walk toward some red berry bushes located toward the southwest, and start peeking behind each and every one. No one there, but the crying remained. I nimbly climbed up a tree, searching for a supposed lonely child. I mean, what if it was another enemy trying to lure me into yet again another failed ambush?_

_Well, I'll be! Pink berry trees! I've heard of them; you eat two and excrete an egg, which makes a cookie spilling cloud. I fail to understand why anyone in their complete senses would consume something that was... Well, anyway, no one here either, except for a male albatoss pecking me so I could leave his nest alone and let his family sleep. I apologize and jump down._

_Where is the crying coming from? Despite the nauseating smell of blood, I resist the urge to bathe for a bit, and make my way toward the forest. I stick my ring finger into the ground every certain distance, and a glowing flower pops out. (Don't forget that I have plant abilities.) After a few minutes, the quieted crying grew a bit louder, and eventually, I reached a blue palace. Well, more like a dome with a locked entrance and a giant white exclamation point painted above said door. By this time, that cry had become a piercing wail, full of despair and agony._

_Strange, I saw no one... yet. I walk around the gargantuan circular building, greeted only by the darkness of shadows begotten by this cursed forest. The dark outlines of bushes and more nocturnal fauna scurrying about was about all that my eyes could discern. Up, down, left, right, but saw nothing; even the palace's doomed roof behind the leafy ceiling. I then reached an area, utterly forlorn, where a scant few scattered moon beams that had managed to penetrate the thick, upper story brush made it easier to distinguish shapes and colors. _

_I walk ahead a bit more; darkness ensues once more to the point if I had closed my eyes, I'd get the same results. I resorted to sticking my arms forward, and almost immediately, my thick hands get pricked by sharp objects, and naturally, I place my fingers inside my mouth. A tall thorny brush prevented any further progress on my part. Some more shadows scurry about, and a great fluttering of what seemed like a flock resounded from higher above the shaking of the bush. I remove my bloody coat and my hat, and planted a glowing flower so to not lose my possessions. I then harden my body into a type of hardwood and pushed through. And good thing I did; those thorns showed no mercy on my clothes, and the hassle to regenerate my body back to normal, especially my large Yoshi nose, would be… But I had to find out about this weeping. And after a bit of struggling, finally a cruel answer made me regret my inquiry._

_A pool of moonlight illuminated this ostensibly unexplored clearing, where a little, sky blue Yoshi boy was kneeling before a green old Yoshi with a red Mohawk and wearing orange shorts with white polka dots. I really didn't want to disturb the child and I knew the Yoshi man was gone, but I was curious as to the identity of the man. I far away enough to hide amongst the shadows, and lightened my step as I neared the mourning Yoshi boy. I was intently fixing my sight on the occurrence when…_

_SNAP!_

_The now startled Yoshi boy, jumped up and stared in my direction, wroth but fearful, and naturally tries to hide behind whatever could shield him from me. I look down at the broken branch under my foot, then at myself. Great! I hadn't noticed my pants, bloody from the scuffle earlier, and my torn black shirt wasn't helping. I sigh and shrug; I walk toward the corpse and investigate it._

_He seemed past his prime, but one could tell he was some sort of fighter in his younger years. Slashes, large gashes here and there, bruises the size of a large fist… Those five muggers clearly targeted these two, but I look around. _

_Bloody footsteps and a child's bloody cloak… Hmm, this man protected that blue Yoshi boy, and took a great beating, finally collapsing here. Or, at least, that's how I deduced what happened. I keep investigating. A soiled, golden belt buckle, wrestling style… the blood and dirt make its inscription hard to read. Let's see. Might as well clean it off with my torn, black shirt. _

_Hmm… The Great Gonzalez Jr., World Champion._

_PLOCK!_

_The light blue Yoshi kid clubbed my head with a branch he could barely manage._

"_YOU MURDERER! WHY DID YOU KILL GRANPA? WHY?"_

_He tried beating me again, but couldn't get the thick branch to budge this time, so he resorted to punching my leg. None of the hits hurt, but I knew his little heart did. For those rouges to trample on a kid's life like that, I again realize that this Mushroom World… What indifference and selfishness it had! What gratifying fulfillment was necessitating of this inhumane sacrifice? Had the love for the "self" reached a pinnacle and perched itself there, on a non-existent pedestal?_

_I inspect the kid for injury, but had none; this Gonzalez had taken the hits, I assume. Due to being taller than a normal adult Yoshi, I stoop down quite low, and despite being a stranger and feeling nothing in my heart, I hug the blue Yoshi boy, who just hugged me back and buried his face into my bare chest. The comfort and venting the child needed. And this went on for a few more hours, until he wept himself to sleep._

…

_I lay the child on the curved blue wall of the palace, and begin digging a hole. I highly doubt this world would pay their last respects to this famous personality. As I dig, I look at the genuine peaceful look on this dead Yoshi. I slightly grin, as it made me reconsider my thoughts a bit. _

_I remove his belt and place him inside a wooden coffin I conjured with my plant abilities, and put that inside the grave. I cover it up, and stand there in complete silence, until dawn was beginning to crack. I make special white roses bloom on the dirt, which can turn into piranha plants, so to guard this solemn ground forever. Then, I neatly fold the glistening belt and place it as a marker. _

_I go toward the sky blue Yoshi boy, and carry him in my arms and go back to the lake. The flowers I planted wilt in the sunlight, so I'd better hurry. I harden once more to protect this kid. Once past the thorny bush, I replace my coat and hat, and make my way toward the lake. I seriously need to wash off more blood off me now._

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**I felt some parts sub par, but here it is. Reviews and predictions welcome. See you all next Friday!**

**[Edit: Updates will now happen Mondays (or very early Tuesdays) and Fridays.]**


	4. IV

_The sun already rose above the clearing of this forest, the Forest of Illusion they call it. The sky blue Yoshi boy, was asleep behind some reeds rooted along the urchin infested lake within this forest. I went behind some other well placed reeds, and went all natural there; I do like my privacy while bathing._

…

_Finally! I washed off most of the blood off, and now, to wash my clothes. These stains are hard to take off! Not only that, I only had that black shirt that got torn by that thorny bush back there and it got buried with that Gonzalez guy. That's just great; I hate showing off my body! I'm one of those old Yoshis who still look like in their prime._

_And now, I had to find this kid's parents, and tell them about the tragedy. They could be anywhere in this world, so the search could take years even. What if it took me years to locate other Yoshis who might have a clue about this? What if it took me to uncharted realms beyond the seas? What if…?_

"_Sir… I'm hungry."_

_A slightly broken and timid voice… the young boy finally woke up, and stood behind me at a distance of a lazily thrown rock. I grew a bit angry; I hadn't finished washing my tainted clothes, and I had knelt along a rocky shore in my birth suit. (Luckily, we Yoshis have tails.) Still, I am not used to this way of life my fellow Yoshi brethren adopted. Each to their own, but I felt awkward. I mean, I am not some exhibitionist or a pervert pedophile or… huh?_

_Those eyes of his. No malice in them, looking up to me for care and shelter. Such innocence! I understand now, or rather, remember my bunch from the past, running around naked without a care in the world, and the other things my innocent, little children do at that age. But I still had to finish my duties._

"_Uh, wait for me over there, and I'll get you something when I'm done, 'kay?" _

_I smiled to reassure the little boy. He was still frightened about the whole ordeal he had lived until now, and I could tell he was untrusting of me, but silently complied. He walked over to his sleeping place and lay back down. I heard his nearly inaudible sigh. I better hurry then._

…

_Okay, finished. Now fully clothed, I head over to the sky blue Yoshi kid, and find him fiddle with some reddish cattails. He seems safe for now. There's still a faint bloody smell, but hey, I can manage. _

_I head to the forest and look for some fruit, maybe a wiggler or ten. An explosion even, but I wonder how we Yoshis can survive eating and explosion made from bob-ombs trapped inside forest bubbles. Wait, I'm sidetracking a bit. Better find some food for the kid. Some wigglers here, a couple of Goombas, a bunch of berries, an egg that came from who knows where. I hope to bring enough to satisfy both of us. I guess this will do for a light morning breakfast. _

_I turn, and there he is, staring at me with a bit of anger, but wanting, needing my help. Well, I don't blame him; after all, he did see me clad in bloody clothes. I hand him an unconscious wiggler._

"_Why don't we go back to the lake and eat something before we look for your parents?"_

_The poor child's eyes water a bit, but he held them tears back. "I don't know my daddy, and my mommy never came back for me."_

_I nearly dropped our breakfast. My jaw dropped a bit; I was flabbergasted. _

"_Gramps and his friends went for me at the house with lots of kids. Their mommies died."He looks down very sad._

_Well, what a way to start a day… This kid really had it rough; all alone at such a tender age, and knowing this was too sudden for me. I knelt once more, and place my right hand on his shoulder. _

"_Hey, now. Uh, your grandpa would be very sad if he saw you from up there being sad. Didn't he want you to show everyone your nice smile? Come on, show me them pearly whites!"_

_The blue Yoshi kid seemed to have found a bit of comfort in that and showed me a nervous smile, almost like my late young ones. I stand with my hand still on his shoulder and take him with me to the clearing once more._

"_See? Grandpa Gonzalez wants you to be happy." _

"_Sir, will he ever come back?"_

_[Sigh.] These tough questions… I have to tell him though. "Well, no, but he will always watch you from above." Smile at him while I close my eyes._

_He giggles, making the knocked-out wiggler on his other shoulder shake a bit. We stop a few feet from the lake side to gather some branches for a fire; he tugs at my suit._

"_Sir, did you kill grandpa?" _

_I stop and look down at him. His eyes are watery again, but this time he seemed to trust me more. His anger dissipated._

"_No, my boy. But I did beat up those mean guys that did."_

_He smiles. _

"_Do you have a name, little one?"_

"_My name's Ramirez, sir."_

"_Ramirez? Interesting."_

"_And what is your name, sir?"_

_I gave him a tender look as I tilt my head slightly to the right. I hand him some branches while I carry the heavier load. _

"_For one, 'sir' isn't my name. But, you can call me… dad."_

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**Submitted very early in the morning this Tuesday. I hope no one takes this chapter the wrong way. Hope you like this chapter.**

**Reviews and predictions welcome. See you all on Friday!**


	5. V

_Mmm, mmm! Fried Wiggler! Nothing like a good meal to start our day. Sure, it had quite a somber beginning, but hey, food. These Mushroom Kingdom bugs have an exquisite taste. And that tasty filling, complementing the crunchy exoskeleton._

_Little Ramirez has sure been quiet though, sitting on that half rotted log to my right. He hasn't eaten much (for a Yoshi, mind you). He still hasn't touched two of his fried wigglers, and much of the fruit is still uneaten, but I am glad he ate something. Coping with a sudden loss is never easy. He's still showing the melancholic look from earlier in the day._

_"Are you not hungry anymore?"_

_He shakes his head. I sigh and motion him to my side, to which he silently complies. I make room on the stump I sat on and wrapped my right arm around him. The morning sun glistened on the forest lake, as some of the trees and clouds overhead cast a shadow at our place along the lake side._

_ I could feel Ramirez want to tear up again. My poor little Yoshi boy; you've had it rough so far! What could I do to cheer him up? [Sigh.] I reach my left hand for the berry mound, and grab an unusually large fruit. I look at it through the corner of my eye, just as Ramirez starts sniffling. Hmm… A peach. How did that get here?_

_"Ramirez, my boy. Look at what I have in my hand."_

_He looks up at my left hand. He's shaking a bit. I'm going to try something; hope it works._

_"Sometimes, we're like this peach. Something bad happens to us, and life gets a bite out of us."_

_I bite the peach, and man, was it delicious. I wipe off some of the juices with my right sleeve, and look down at Ramirez (who is watching me closely now), as I continue talking while I eat the mouthful of fruit._

_"We lose our favorite toy…" I take another bite. "The chain chomp we liked ran away…" [Munch!] "Or maybe like you, many sad things happen…" How I could, I ate the rest of the orange flesh. Good thing we Yoshis do not choke easily for eating a ton! _

_Anyway, I showed him the moist pit in my hand after I wiped my mouth dry again, to which he picked up and seemed to examine. "Sometimes life leaves us nothing, like this pit, this seed. But if we leave this seed alone, it will get a bit dry, and that's it." _

_I thrust two of my fingers into the ground, and continue. "However, we can decide to plant it…" I motion him to place the pit inside the hole. In goes the pit; he helps me cover it with his boyishly tiny hands._

_"And this little seed will grow, and grow, and grow. Years from now, it will be a great, big tree, forgetting it once was a fruit, for it will have many of its own."_

_"But sir, what does it all mean?"_

_It will take him a while to get used to calling me dad, but, I haven't really called him son yet either, so… I continue trying to explaining as patiently and as clearly as I could. "It means that, you may lose something you have now, even everything, but can decide to do something about it… "_

_"Like what?"_

_"Well, let's see… You can, like someone else like your grandpa, finish his dream, live happy…"_

_"I can do all those without Granpa here?" I could hear him cheer up a bit._

_I look down at him again and give him a great big hug and smile. "Sure you can! You're going to be a big Yoshi boy one day too, and…"_

_I didn't get to finish my thought; my little Ramirez hugged me back tightly (like a normal child would) and nuzzled on my side. I don't know if he understood me or not, but I do know that he at least took his first step in healing those wounds to his heart. Then, he took a big bite out of his fried wiggler._

_…_

_With breakfast done, we travel south. He told me during our breakfast that he and the Gonzalez Yoshi guy we supposed to spend the night by some castle ruins close to the bridge connecting to Chocolate Island. Bridge? Hmm, according to this map from the inn, there should be a land pass there. But then again, that cheap inn wasn't very reliable to begin with._

_I originally carried him on my shoulders, but thanks to me being a very tall Yoshi, little Ramirez nearly smacked his tender, blue, Yoshi nose on a branch twice. We we're occasionally attacked by forest baddies, but I ate them; my breakfast wasn't very filling for a Yoshi my size. Though, it was tricky eating them. Yes, I have plant powers and can't die, but at the price of losing some of my Yoshi abilities, like the flutter jump and my stretchy tongue. But down the hatch they went regardless._

_As we travel south to what is now know as the 'Ruins of Roy's Castle', I look about. Good, the forest is clearing a bit. Some trees have pink berries; I chuckle a bit at the sight of them. I look down at him; he is still sad, but I could see a genuine smile. His brown eyes look up to me, he grabs my hand with his small sky blue hands. I smile at him as we finally exit the forest._

_What magnificent ruins! I heard that one of this land's ancestors was trapped by a pink Koopa. Just the thought made me shudder. And behind it was a modern bridge connecting the Forest of Illusion to Chocolate Island… or as I was told later, Choco Industries. And wow, was it polluted by refuse of mines, factories, and megalopolis' smog._

_Just then, I get headbonked quite a bit, followed by fiery Shell Toss. Unlike the thugs in the forest, their hits packed a wallop. _

_"Ramirez! Hide in the castle! Be careful!"_

_He runs away towards the ruins, as I confront two shadowy figures before me, veiled by a sudden dust storm. The wind seemed to have picked up at this cliff beforehand, so now I have to rely on more than just my eyes. I jab my fingers into the ground, and five Smilax-styled piranha plant summonings emerge from the stony ground. The shadows dart; the fight for my son begins now…_

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_**Reviews and predictions welcome. See you all on Monday!**_


	6. VI

_Half an hour passed. The dust cloud seems to be clearing and the wind is dying off, but the mysterious figures move among the dust at blinding speed. My suit is all torn up and my money bag slipped into a cliff-side crevice. So much for taking care in my last battle! And the one I assume is a Koopa did a Fire Shell move, and managed to chop off my right arm from above my elbow._

_As I fought for my adopted sky blue son, my blood raced through my veins, the rush of adrenaline and testosterone nearly intoxicated me, and that high for battle nearly clouds my perception. My irises and sclerae were no longer had an innocent appearance, trademark of nearly all Yoshis, but a sinister sort of tree ringed design invaded their totality. Sticky, aloe Vera-like sweat dripped from my brow, and glistened in the mid-day sun. How many years have passed since I've actually had this kind of rush? How exhilarating! _

_Until I hear a small whimper, full of fear…_

_I snapped to reality and look back to see if Ramirez is still fine. If it wasn't for my blood thirsty eyes meeting his pure, brown eyes, which along his sky blue Yoshi nose peeking from behind a slab of wall poking out of the ground, who knows what rampaging damage I would have made. I don't want my little Ramirez to grow up with an impression of a father with an intense lust for battle. He might even think that fighters live forever, but creatures unlike myself have a finite time to live. But these two… leagues above the fodder five from last night. I must cease and finish this, my foolish frolicking, now…_

_I regenerate my right arm by virtue of my plant abilities, and thrust my ten fingers into the gritty ground. My special grass sprouted; now let's see, where are...? Bingo; found my adversaries! I kick the ground with the tip of my left foot and two bamboo shoots launch my foes high into the air, and each landed with a loud thud._

_I stand upright and wipe off the excess, gooey sweat and some dirt I accumulated on my body and what remained of my suit. I did get a bit muddy, but I didn't care at this point. And also, the wind that had picked up beforehand died down completely; it must a natural phenomenon of the peninsula south of the Forest of Illusion. _

_My foes, an large but withered Goomba sporting a blue baseball cap, and his friend, a blue shelled Koopa with a red bandana tied around his neck and a small pot belly, lay panting a good distance away. I do find it funny that old geezers can kick tail, but the youngsters break a bead of sweat in a thumb war. Whoops! There I go again with another of my 'pot calling the kettle black' moments. _

_But anyway, I go to pick my scorched, severed right arm, and absorb it back into myself, and then I walk over to my scared little blue Yoshi boy. What happened next though… Both of my foes raise quickly and dash toward Ramirez, seemingly protecting them._

"_You child thief! If I we're a bit younger, I'd turn you into one of the Yoshi mummies I discovered at Lavalava Island."_

"_Remy, run while I headbonk this fool to bits."_

_I stood silent. I rubbed my chin, and started getting the gist of things. "Hold on, you two aren't with those suckers back in the forest? And you're not stealing the kid?" (So much for adopting him as my son…)_

"_WHAT?! You don't know know who we are, then? Gonzalez Jr., Kooper and me traveled the world for the thrill of adventure, and… Hey, what happened to that diapered Yoshi anyway? After they kidnapped Remy last night, Gonzalez went to go fetch 'im."_

_Oh boy. This… won't be pretty._

…

_I sit on the ground while I have a small talk with the Goomba; a nice fellow (whenever he's not battling, that is) named Goombario. I guess he had the sharpest eye for things and loved to talk. (I wonder if he was a tattle tale when he was younger.) And there I was, listening to his non-stop babbling about their adventures as a dynamic trio, while the blue shelled Koopa (I deduced was Kooper) scavenged the ruins of Roy's castle, and my little Remy played with a makeshift wooden yo-yo I made him. And there he goes again; tying himself up with the string while trying to walk the dog. There's something I could teach him in our free time. _

_Finally, he got to the point when the took Ramirez out of an orphanage (he said day care foster but come on, it didn't take a genius to figure that out), most kids being refugees of an ethnic cleansing conflict in a remote part of the Mushroom World. Apparently, according to the gossip one of the care's 'moms' got from Remy's mother, his dad joined the Mushroom Kingdom's army, and died in the struggle. His mother was so deeply thrust into turmoil, that she would later drop him off daily, until one day she never came back. That was three years before the trio picked him up about a month ago._

"_Yeah, Kooper and me widowed quite early. We cared for our bunch until they could fend for themselves. And then we head off for adventure with that fight-loving Yoshi. He never had kids. Gonzy and me fought at all the famous fighting rings, Kooper did his archeology escapades… Until we finally settled down, and Gonzy took Remy out of that place, determined to find the boy's mother. But, where is Gonzy?"_

_[Sigh.] This again? "He died protecting Ramirez, and I buried him behind a blue switch palace."_

_Goombario looks down. "I see. We only needed to look in Chocolate Island before we left to another place. That is, if we didn't find 'is mom or something. Remy is going to miss Gonzy."_

"_I could join you two, you know."_

"_Thanks, but we can manage going around the wor…" I hear his back cracking and him moaning in pain._

"_You're, uh, not exactly in your prime, and I, uh, handed your, hat to… you?"_

_By this time, Kooper had finished writing some note on his journal, and freeing Ramirez from his self trap. My little Remy, he ran up to me and hugged me before Goombario could reply. I look down at him and smile, leaving the now smiling blue capped Goomba shake his head and scoff in irony._

"_Ready to go, Ramirez?" He nods._

"_It's a pain in the shell, but, can you accompany us?" That Koopa gets straight to the point; I also nod. The four of us head to the unguarded bridge connecting to the modern megalopolis of Chocolate Island. This time, I carry him on my shoulders._

"_Hey Remy, how old are you?"_

"_Um, ten."_

"_Hey, plant Yoshi dude! If you ask Kooper, he might need to borrow our hands to help 'im count."_

"_At least I'm not a 'cute lil' Goomnut'!" _

_That Koopa! I'm guessing he found an embarrassing letter from Goombario's mom and has teased him ever since. So while crossing the concrete bridge and looking at yet another setting sun, I had to put up with the infighting of two good friends. And that went on, day by day, for the next five years._

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**I had nothing to say Monday, but here's a new chapter. This chapter ends a childhood and the next resumes in adolescence. See you all then!**


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